Palelei, although he is a fairly new name among the mainstream MMA conversations, is a huge star in his home of Australia. He holds a record of 18-3 and hasn’t fought in the UFC since 2007. Since that one fight stint in the octagon Soa “The Hulk” Palelei has gone 10-1, with his only loss during that span coming from Daniel Cormier back in 2010. When talking about his popularity and his wide reception from fans Palelei humbly stated, “You know what, the people that make us fighters popular is the people like you and the fans. It’s all about the fans.”

Palelei was then asked to comment on his popularity in Australia and his massive twitter following. Palelei explained that he appreciates the fans and he avidly interacts with them. That’s the main difference in his popularity jumping above that of others. Throughout the interview Soa was very adamant about showing his appreciation for the fans and their support. He stated that showing them love back is huge.

“You have to give back to the fans,” he explained. “As a fighter, my advice to other fighters is that you have to promote yourself.”

“I’m excited. I was pretty disappointed I didn’t get to fight at 161 but I respect the UFC’s decisions because they’re always looking out for the fans and making the right judgments for the card,” Palelei said. “So you know, I’m happy with my shot at 164 with Nikita [Krylov].”

“When you focus on training for one certain person and then you get called that they had to reshuffle the card, you know, that’s life. You have these kinds of situations with fights.”

Although Palelei now has to train for an entirely different opponent he still feels he’s making the right progressions in training and is still confident in his mindset. He explained, “Now, I’m refocused on this fight.”

“I’m happy to be pushed back to 164. It gives me more time to train and, the thing is, I haven’t stopped training, anyway.” He continued, “I respect the UFC’s decision.”

Many fighters would have voiced their displeasure with being shuffled around and having to shift around their fight camps. Palelei doesn’t feel that it’s going to affect him much and is quietly, optimistically, still anticipating his octagon return.

He then talked about his growth as a fighter since his first UFC fight back in 2007. He attributed much of his success since his last UFC appearance over six years ago to his teammates, his work ethic, and his positive outlook on life. He explained, “It’s my whole training, my whole perception of life. Just enjoy it and surround yourself with good people.”

He continued, “After that Daniel Cormier fight I was sitting in the back changing room and I was like, ‘I’m never going to lose again.’” Palelei, as farfetched as that statement may be, has made it true thus far, rattling off eight-consecutive victories. “After that I’ve gone on an eight-fight winning streak and I just don’t want to lose. It’s just the worst thing ever,” he said.

Palelei understands that the level that Cormier brings is hard to handle for a lot of fighters. He continued explaining that he wants to fight the best in the world and feels that his skills can match up with anyone’s but there would have to be a lot of work put in for a camp against a guy like DC. It wasn’t fear to fight him that kept him reluctant to jump at the opportunity to fight Cormier again but rather, Sao stated, “I respect him.”

Soa then talked with our boys Pedro and George about his upcoming bout against the undefeated Nikita Krylov. Although Krylov is not the big name that Stipe Miocic would have been, Palelei knows that any fight, especially in the big leagues of the UFC, is a dangerous fight. He stated, “Anyone can lose at anytime.”

This will be a big test for Palelei and he knows that he’ll need to enter the fight prepared if he wants to put on a good showing for the fans.

However, it’s hard to work on an opponent that you don’t have a lot of background on. Krylov is 14-0 but it’s fairly difficult to find much information on him. Much like Palelei himself, Krylov has made his rounds in several different fight promotions and has never really found a lasting home. But Palelei says that his camp and coaches are doing a good job breaking his opponent down. “We’ll work on a lot of his weaknesses,” he said. “I’ll pressure him and we’ll see where it ends up.”

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